Warts: Overview
A wart is a harmless skin growth caused by a virus. The virus makes the top layer of skin grow quickly, causing a wart. Warts usually go away on their own in months or years. There are several types of warts. Common warts appear most often on the hands, but they may be anywhere on the body.
Warts spread easily. You can reinfect yourself by touching the wart and then touching another part of your body. You can infect others by sharing towels, razors, or other personal items.
Most warts don't need treatment. But if warts cause pain or spread, your doctor may recommend that you use an over-the-counter treatment. Or your doctor may prescribe a stronger medicine to put on warts or may inject them with medicine. The doctor also can remove warts through surgery or by freezing them.
Warts
Warts are skin growths caused by a virus. The virus infects the top layer of skin, causing it to grow rapidly.
Warts can grow anywhere on your body. Most warts go away on their own, but they may come back.
What are the symptoms of warts?
A wart may be a bump with a rough surface, or it may be flat and smooth. Plantar warts can look like a callus. Warts are usually painless. But a wart that grows in a spot where you put pressure, such as on a finger or the bottom of the foot, can be painful.
Flat warts
Flat warts are usually found on the face, arms, or legs. They are small (usually smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil), and there are usually several in one area. They have flat tops and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow. Flat warts are often spread by shaving.
How are warts treated?
Most warts don't need treatment. They generally go away on their own. But if you have warts that are painful or are spreading, you can treat them with salicylic acid or duct tape. Or your doctor can treat them with medicine or by freezing or removing them.
Preventing warts
The main way to prevent warts is to avoid contact with the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes warts. If you are exposed to this virus, you may or may not get warts, depending on how susceptible you are to the virus. Here are some tips to help avoid HPV.
- Avoid touching warts on yourself or others.
- Don't share razors, towels, socks, or shoes with another person.
Someone with no visible warts can still be carrying the virus.
- Avoid walking barefoot on warm, moist surfaces where the wart virus may be alive.
Wear shower shoes when using public showers, locker rooms, or pool areas.
- Keep your feet dry.
If your feet sweat heavily, wear socks that absorb moisture or wick it away from the skin.
- Avoid irritating the soles of your feet.
Warts grow more easily if your skin has been injured or broken in some way.
You can help prevent warts from spreading. Keep your warts covered with a bandage or athletic tape. Don't bite your nails or cuticles, as this may spread warts from one finger to another.
How are warts diagnosed?
A doctor usually can tell if a skin growth is a wart by looking at it. Your doctor may take a sample of the wart if it isn't clear that the growth is a wart or if the growth is darker than the skin around it, is irregular, bleeds, or is large and fast-growing.
How can you care for warts?
- Use salicylic acid or duct tape as your doctor directs. You put the medicine or the tape on a wart for several days and then file down the dead skin on the wart. You use the salicylic acid treatment for 2 to 3 months or the tape for 1 to 2 months.
- If your doctor prescribes medicine to put on warts, use it exactly as directed. Call your doctor if you think you are having a problem with your medicine.
To avoid spreading warts
- Keep warts covered with a bandage or athletic tape.
- Don't bite your nails or cuticles. This may spread warts from one finger to another.
How are warts spread?
Warts are spread by direct contact with a human papillomavirus (HPV). You can infect yourself again by touching the wart and then touching another part of your body. You can infect another person by sharing towels, razors, or other items. After contact with HPV, it can take months before you notice a wart.
What causes warts?
A wart is caused by some types of the virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV infects the top layer of skin. It usually enters the body in an area of broken skin. The virus causes the top layer of skin to grow very fast, forming a wart.
What are warts?
Warts are skin growths caused by a virus. Warts can grow anywhere on the body. There are different kinds. For example, common warts grow most often on the hands, but they can grow anywhere. Plantar warts grow on the soles of the feet. Most warts go away on their own within months or years.
Warts in children: When to call
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
- Your child has signs of infection, such as:
- Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness.
- Red streaks leading from a wart.
- Pus draining from a wart.
- A fever.
Watch closely for changes in your child's health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
- Your child does not get better as expected.
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